Weekend foodie: A comforting take on coddle with a Mediterranean twist

Sat, 30 Nov, 2024 - 07:01

The Dublin Coddle has its history rooted in working class communities.

It was a meal which made a few ingredients go a long way, particularly when it came to feeding large families.

A traditional Dublin Coddle is said to contain rashers and sausages with potatoes and onions and not much else.

According to its history, it was a favourite of writers Sean O’Casey and Jonathan Swift, and mentioned in the works of James Joyce.

I doubt very much the people of Dublin and surrounds would class my main course this week as a true coddle.

That it isn’t, but it’s based upon the idea that if you only have a little in the cupboard, you can still have a lot of food.

Like the original dish, my version is gently cooked as a stew on top of the stove, tempting all around with its tantalising aromas.

I particularly like the name coddle, being so close to cuddle, as this dish is almost like a comforting cuddle in a bowl in these last dark weeks of the year.

I’ve used sausages, bulked out with chickpeas and spiced up with a bit of salami I had left in the fridge, and some veggies.

It definitely isn’t the traditional coddle, but it will nourish and sustain in the same way.

For dessert, a mix of winter fruits baked in fragrant parcels with maple syrup and lemon.

If you have been baking the Christmas cakes or mince pies in the last few weeks and you have any spices left, you could add a sprinkling of ground cinnamon and nutmeg to these parcels for a festive fee.

Comfort coddle (Serves 4)

Ingredients

Splash of olive oil
4 plump Cumberland Sausages
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 slices peppered salami
300mls vegetable or chicken stock
100mls rustica passata
400g can chickpeas, drained
100g green beans, chopped
2 ripe largeish tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 good handfuls baby spinach leaves, rinsed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages to brown all over.
Remove from pan and reserve.
Add onion to frying pan with a little extra oil.
Cook gently till soft and transparent.
Transfer to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
Cut each sausage into four chunks.
Add to onions.
Tear the salami into pieces and add these to the mix.
Pour over the stock and passata.
Add chickpeas, beans tomatoes and mustard and bring to bubbling..
Lower the heat and cook at a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the gravy starts to thicken.
Add the spinach to wilt. Season.
Serve with mashed potatoes.

Winter fruit parcels (Serves 4)

Ingredients

4 ripe bananas, peeled
½ fresh ripe pineapple, peeled and in slivers
75g butter, in chunks
4 apricots, stoned and in wedges
4 clementines, peeled and segmented
Juice of half a lemon
4 tsp runny honey
1 whole ripe pomegranate

Method

Cut four squares of baking parchment or greaseproof paper big enough to hold the fruit and be able to secure the top.
Split the bananas lengthways and lay each on a square.
Dot with chunks of butter on each square.
Divide pineapple and clementine segments between the parcels.
Squeeze over the lemon juice and drizzle with maple syrup.
Cut a circle from the top of the pomegranate and lift off.
Following the natural membranes inside the fruit, cut down to the base to remove wedges of pomegranate.
Scoop out the seeds and add to each parcel.
Bring up the edges of the parcel to the centre and twist or fold over the top to secure.
Place on a baking tray.
Bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas 4 350F 180C for 15 minutes till the fruit is tender.
Serve in the open paper parcels, with natural yogurt or cream.